Reading 1
The world of work has been undergoing dramatic changes. Step by step, robots are taking over manual jobs that used to be done by semi-skilled workers. Al assistants in the forms of holograms have been on trial at Changi Airport and Boston Airport. Their performance as perfectly efficient check-in staff has amazed users. Getting a secure job or a career can’t have been more challenging.
On leaving school, 18-year-olds are faced with one of the toughest decisions of their life: career choice. Which to pursue requires sensible decision basing on their in-depth self-understanding. It is also worth noticing that, in this ever-advancing world, school-leavers need to be well-prepared for changes and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
However bewildering career choice may be, it is no more than the beginning of a person’s career. To further it, they have no alternative but to become better day by day. .
Of all the qualities, a person’s flexibility will work in this full-of-changes world. Flexibility manifests itself in professional agility, problem-solving skills, change management and innovative thinking. As long as they are not set in their way of thinking, they can easily get a task done.
AI has been replacing certain blue-collar workers, but it can never establish a role in a field that has something to do with emotional intelligence (EQ). Automated learning machines can repeatedly lecture a subject, but they can never become an inspiring story for students. Robots in hospitals can accurately perform operations, but at no time can they comfort the lonely and suffering patients like a gentle nurse.
Technology has taken mankind to a world of constant change. School-leavers are expected to improve themselves and own the right skills to meet the social demands.
Adapted from Tieng Anh 12 Friend Global
